Candle lights
by Kaap
Summary: A blackout at S.H.I.E.L.D's HQ leads to something unexpected.


The elevator's door opened and the first thing Natasha saw was Steve leaning against one of the glass walls, arms crossed against his chest. She smiled at him while she walked in and then said the number of the floor she was heading to out loud. The door closed and the elevator started to move.

"Working late?" She heard Steve ask. She look down at her watch to see that it was already 8 PM. Most of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents had already went home. She turned to him.

"I could ask you the same question." She wiggled her eyebrows at him, suppressing a smile.

"Going up to see the boss?" He questioned.

"Fury wants to talk about something important." She shrugged. She saw Steve lift an eyebrow in concern. "His words, not mine."

"I hope nothing life threatening."

"I sure hope not. I've been dying to get home and relax from today in a bubble bath," she joked.

"Didn't know spies did what normal people do," he jested.

"I may be a spy but I'm a woman, too, Cap." she winked. They've been playing at this for months now—chatting, small flirting...everybody in the team except for themselves knew that something was going on between the spy and the soldier.

"I didn't miss that," he said. After realizing what he just said, he blushed and his eyes dropped to the ground embarrassingly. Natasha smiled to herself, thinking that Steve blushing was cute. There was a short silence before Natasha spoke again.

"So, are you attending Stark's party next week?" she asked, making small talk. Steve rubbed the back of his neck as a sign of discomfort.

"Huh, I don't know yet." The elevator stopped and the doors opened.

"Well, I hope I'll see you there," she said, ready to step out. However, the doors suddenly closed and the elevator began to drop quickly, sending the two Avengers onto the ground with the impact. A few seconds later, it finally came to a stop.

"You alright?" Steve groaned, getting up on his feet.

"Yeah. What the heck was that?"

"Don't know."

"It looks like the power is out." She noticed, looking through the elevator glass windows. She didn't see any lights on; the city was in completely darkness. She brought her hand in front of her mouth and spoke through her com, contacting S.H.I.E.L.D.'s main control room.

"This is Romanoff, does anyone copy?" There was nothing but silence on the line. She spoke again into the com.

"Agent Romanoff, we copy," someone finally spoke back. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, what's going on?"

"A blackout left the entire city in the dark."

"Was it accidental or is someone behind this?" she asked worriedly.

"It seems accidental. Apparently, it came from one of our labs. We're trying to get everything back to normal. What is your position?"

"Captain Rogers and myself are stuck on the southwest elevator," she informed.

"Is one of you in need of immediate care?" She looked over at Steve who shook his head, which meant "no."

"No, we're fine."

"Alright, it will take some time to get you out of there. Other people are in urgent need of attention right now."

"'We'll wait." She ended the conversation. "Great," she sighed.

"Guess we're stuck here for a while. Your bath will have to wait," Steve teased while sitting on the ground. "Got any cards?"

She rolled her eyes, annoyed at the situation.

"Look, it will only take a few hours," Steve reassured her.

"Or all night." She crossed her arms.

"At least I'm better company than Fury, right?" He was too damn joyful for someone who was stuck in an elevator, she thought. She didn't respond, trying to suppress a smile at his beautiful sparkling eyes. She sat down besides him.

They stayed in complete silence for a while, Steve playing with his thumbs while Natasha gazed at the opposite wall.

"Why don't you ever go to Tony's parties?" He heard her ask him. At first he thought he had imagined it, but then he saw her eyes on him, waiting for his reply.

"I don't know, I just feel out of place there," he said, glaring at his thumbs. "The crowd, the loud music, the half-naked ladies hitting on me...it's not for me."

"Come on, you had one bad experience. Doesn't mean every party is like that," she said, hitting him softly with her elbow.

"Am I wrong?" he questioned.

"Okay, most of it it's true, but not all the women are naked."

"I said half-naked."

"Whatever. I go to those parties and I'm not half-naked."

"Sorry. I didn't meant to offend you," he apologized.

"None taken. Maybe you should go with a friend, it will be more fun."

"I don't really have friends, you know," he said, embarrassed. "Outside of the team, I mean."

"Come on, you're captain America, you must have friends. Just by your looks, at least."

"I don't like those kind of people," he dismissed.

"Well, okay." The room fell silent again.

"We're friends, right?" Steve asked some time later.

"Well, yeah." she shrugged. "I mean, we've spent a lot of time together for the past year if you think about it."

"Then maybe next time we can go together." Steve looked up to meet her eyes. He could see that she was shocked by his offer.

"You mean like a date?" she asked. Then, without letting her reply, Steve continued. "No, I mean, yes. I mean, I wouldn't say no, I wouldn't mind. I mean, you are beautiful and I would be delightful. What I'm trying to say is that, maybe if I go with a friend, I'll feel less out of place and will be able to enjoy the party," he blurted out while Natasha was trying hard to not burst out laughing at his nervousness.

"I get it, Steve," she stopped him. Steve had turned red and, at her words, retreated his eyes back to the ground. "I would like that." She smiled at him.

"Wait. What will the others think if we show up together?" he worried.

"Let them talk, what matters is you having fun and spending some quality time with a friend. Don't you want that?"

"I do," he assured.

'"Great." She beamed then stood up. Steve furrowed his eyebrows.

"What are you doing, Nat?" he asked her. Her mouth twitched at his nickname for her.

"I'm tired of waiting, I'll get us out of here. Do you have a light?"

"Here, take my phone." He handed her his phone.

"Let's see if I can find a trapdoor. Boost me up so that I can reach the ceiling." He did as he was told.

"Why didn't you do this in the beginning?" he asked, holding her up.

"I was expecting them to come and get us faster. I'm tired of waiting."

"Seems logical...I think," he shrugged. Natasha found a trapdoor and managed to opened it. She pushed herself out of the elevator and Steve followed soon after.

Once they were out, Natasha and Steve helped the authorities with the blackout since it was also their job as Avengers. It had been almost dawn when Fury told them to go home and rest. They done enough for the night. The city was now quieter; the problem have been found and the lights were expected to turn back on by the following day.

"You know, I didn't get to thank you for getting us out of that thing," Steve said.

"You can buy me dinner," she replied. He thought for a moment.

"I know the perfect spot."

"Steve, I didn't mean right now." She looked down at her watch. "It's almost 4 am."He didn't listen to her.

"Meet me at my apartment as soon as you can." And just like that, he was gone.

Natasha knocked on Steve's door twice before hearing his footsteps on the wooden floor. He opened the door wide open.

"Hey," he greeted her. He had changed—he was now wearing grey sweatpants and a white shirt. His hair was wet, meaning he had just taken a shower. "Please come in." She did as he said. She followed him into the kitchen.

"I couldn't find anything suitable for dinner in such short notice," he admitted. "But! I found this." He beamed rather proudly as he showed her a big tub of cookie dough.

"Pre-made cookie dough? You know how to please a girl, Rogers," she laughed as she to opened it. "Though, I don't know how we're going to bake it without electricity. It won't be back another couple of hours."

"I guess we'll have to eat it from the tub," he told her with two spoons in his hand and a half-gallon of milk. "Follow me." She did as he said and, soon after, they found their way to Steve's balcony. He had already arranged some pillows and blankets on the ground.

"Looks comfy," she noticed as she sat down. "The view is incredible." She took a spoonful of cookie dough. "I've never imagined the sky looking like this without all the city lights."

"Agreed."

They talked about everything, from random stuff to things work related. They shared some laughs, while eating. Before they knew it, the container was almost empty.

"The last scoop." Steve exclaimed, lifting the spoon. "Do you want it?"

"No, you can have it," she told him. Steve didn't have to be asked twice and shoved the spoon into his mouth, moaning and savouring the last of the cookie dough.

"You have some dough on your cheek there," Natasha said, reaching with her hand to wipe off the excess with her thumb. She cleaned it up slowly, her hand reaching up to cup his cheek. Without realizing it, she leaned in close, causing their noses to touch. Their noses rubbed against each other; she closed her eyes at the sensation. She could feel his breath over her face and could almost taste his lips. She opened her eyes at the sound of his croaky voice.

"Thanks." His voice was hoarse and he lost in her eyes, he leaned in even further, closing the distance between them.

Their mouths met hurriedly with heaps of passion and need. Natasha had both of her hands cupping his face, preventing him from escaping her touch. Steve's right hand was tangled in her red curls while he deepened the kiss, his other was at her waist. The kiss was firm; their hearts were thumping fast and were on the same beat.

Their lips moved in perfect sync; Natasha's tongue came out to lick his upper lip as Steve opened his own mouth to welcome her. Steve, feeling daring, started to suck on her lower lip, which earned him a groan from Natasha.

She tasted like Heaven and Steve couldn't get enough of it.

They pulled away slowly, eyes still closed, as if they didn't want the moment to end. When Natasha opened her eyes, she was greeted by his deep blue gaze, leaving her speechless.

She was feeling things that she hadn't for a long time. Her brain told her to run but another part of her wanted her to stay and never leave. Without any word exchanged, Natasha adjusted herself in place and grabbed Steve's right arm. She then found herself leaning her head against his shoulder and looking up at the stars. The night was beautiful. They fell asleep in that very position. Natasha was the first to wake up that morning. She could smell Steve's scent as his arms were wrapped around her and his face was buried in her neck.

Natasha ran a finger from his forehead to his jawline. She didn't know what had gone through her mind last night. Being kissed by Captain America wasn't a part of the plan, not that she regrets it—she loved the moment they shared. Was she becoming sentimental? No, love is for children, Romanoff, she scolded herself. This friendship was different from the others, though. She didn't behave like this around her others friends. She did things with Steve that she wouldn't ever do with anyone else. They shared some kind of bond. She felt different when she was with him, like she was free to be herself. He would still love—like—her, anyway. But maybe this relationship was getting out of hand. She needed to think, out of his reach, without his intoxicated scent near her and messing her thoughts. With that being said, she decided to leave his apartment and go for a walk. She never came back.

A few days had past, since the "incident." Steve hasn't brought it up at work so they were never able to talk about it, although it had weakened their relationship. They still worked perfectly well together on missions and made a great team, but Natasha felt something was off in their friendship and she hated herself for ruining everything. So, she decided to fix it. She wanted the old Steve back—not her partner or teammate, but shy and funny Steve.

"Hey, soldier," she greeted him. He was punching a punching ball and was all sweaty.

"Natasha," he nodded, wiping a strand of hair from his forehead.

"So, Saturday night. Are you free?" She opted for being direct.

"I think so, why?" He asked, unsure of how to react.

"Tony's party. We said that we'd go together, remember?" she said innocently.

"Yeah, right," he said. "See you Saturday night, then."

"Yes, you will," she smiled and left him to finish his workout. She smiled to herself, for she had the perfect outfit picked for that night.

Natasha and Steve arrived to the party just after 11 PM. Most of the guests were already drunk or high and the music was loud. They tried to make their way through the crowd in search for a friendly face. They were met by no other than a very drunk Tony Stark, accompanied with a half-empty drink in his hand.

"Hey, Steve! Glad you could make it!" He yelled above the music.

"Thanks for the invitation," the soldier shouted back.

"No need, man. We need to teach you how to have fun in the 21st century." He took a sip of his drink. "By the way, the guys are over there," he said, pointing to a corner of the room where Clint, Bruce and Maria could be seen talking at a table.

"Red, I must say you look fabulous." The billionaire avowed as he noticed Natasha. Steve silently agreed with Tony: she was gorgeous. She was wearing a red dress that stopped just above her knees. Her lips were the same bright colour, causing Steve to fight the urge to taste them again. He still remembered the taste of her on his lips.

"Let's go to the others, Steve," she offered without taking into account what Tony had just said.

At some point during the party, Steve and Natasha got separated. Steve was at the bar talking with Sam when his eyes landed on the red-haired woman. She was chatting with some random guy. Steve didn't remember having met him. The brown-haired man was wearing an expensive, dark blue suit. Steve didn't think anything of it at first, but as soon as he saw Natasha's reaction to the man, he became confused. What was she playing at?

The guy was obviously flirting with her and, by her body's reactions, she was flirting back. What did that mean? Did the kiss that they had shared a few days ago mean nothing?

He had hoped that they would talk about it. He was waiting for her to make the first move since she was the one who walked away, but he could see now that it wasn't going to happen. When she came to talk to him at the gym, his heart was beating fast and was full of expectation. She then invited him to the party and he thought they were on a good road, but the road was now collapsing.

Steve was getting mixed signals from the spy and it only made him more confused. The man stepped closer to her and whispered something in her ear, making her laugh and throw her head back. He sighed and decided that he needed fresh air, so he hurried out of the room.

It was a big, wide balcony that Natasha had found him on half an hour later.

"Hey, where have you been?" she asked.

"Right here," he said coldly, his back to her. His hands were inside his pant's pockets as he stared at the cityscape underneath them. By the sound of his voice, Natasha noticed that something was odd.

"Okay...what's the matter?" She reached for his arm but he avoided it. He turned to face her.

"What are you playing at, Nat?" She was taken aback by his tone.

"I don't understand."

"We kiss then the next day you leave without any explanation. And now I see you flirting with some other guy. What's your point?" he questioned.

"Steve, you-" But he didn't let her finish.

"Was it to hurt me? Or it was just pity for poor old Steve? I'm not that desperate, you know! I might feel homesick, miss some old things and feel like I don't belong here, but I don't need your pity or sympathy. If your point was to lie to me or to fake you had any type of feelings for me, you failed. And to be honest, I don't think I want that kind of friendship." He then turned to leave. He headed home for a good night of sleep.

Steve was in the kitchen the next day when he heard a knock on the door. He left what he was doing and went to open the door. He was faced by Natasha. She was wearing worn-out blue jeans with a leather jacket on top of a white T-shirt.

"Oh," was his first word. "It's you."

"Hey," she said nervously. "Can we talk?" Steve sighed, but let her in, anyway. He closed the door and headed to the living room to sit on the couch.

"Well?" he urged. Natasha was standing up, her hands behind her back.

"I wanted to apologize."

"About?"

"The other night. You're right, I shouldn't have left," she admitted.

"So, why did you?" he asked curiously, getting up so that he was face-to-face with her.

"I got scared, okay? All of this is new to me. I never got to know what happiness, peace, and blissfulness felt like. I just did what I know best. I ran away."

"Did you think about what I felt when I woke up _alone_?"

"I know I was selfish, but Steve, please understand that this is all new to me," she told him.

"And you think it isn't for me?" he raised his voice. "I'm as lost as you. You're the second girl I've kissed in all of my damn life. I never been in a relationship. I'm so confused, you have no idea," he confided.

"I'm sorry." He could see in her eyes that she wasn't lying, but was he reading her correctly?

"Are you done running now?" he asked.

"Yeah. You know, I did miss you these past few days. Our argument tore us apart and I came to realize how much I valued our friendship. I really liked having you by my side, Steve," she said truthfully.

"I missed you, too," he said, striding closer to her. They looked at each other and Steve closed their distance to hug her. His arms wrapped around her, his nose caught her smell. He loved her smell—it was a mix of coconut and some other ingredient that he couldn't figure it out. Moments later, they came apart.

"So, what's behind your back?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, right," she remembered while presenting a brown paper bag to him from behind her back. "I made you this, as a gift for forgiveness." Steve took the bag and opened it.

"Cookies?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I thought it was a good throwback to the amazing night that we spent together," she shrugged. He took a bite out of one of cookies and, by his expression, he was trying really hard to not throw it up.

"You hate it," she said disappointed.

"No, no! It's delicious." His wince told her otherwise. She decided to try one of them. She then threw it up into her hand.

"Oh, God, that's disgusting." She coughed, running to the kitchen to toss it into the trash can. After washing her hands, she reached for the glass of water that Steve was giving her.

"Thanks," she said after drinking the water.

"So, yeah, you still need a little practise," he joked. They both started to laugh as they walked back to the living room to sit on the couch. Their laughter subsided after a few minutes. They then were side by side, arms touching as they smiled broadly and gazed at each other.

"What about I kiss you, Rogers?"

The end.


End file.
